Photojournalist James Arthur Allen brings the moving photographic exhibition, A War Within, to the Royal Armouries Museum from Friday 12 October, as part of the Love Arts Leeds Festival.

A War Within raises awareness of mental health difficulties, such as depression, anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), experienced by veterans and the wider Armed Forces’ community.

With recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the mental health of veterans has not been far from the political agenda, attracting widespread media interest and scrutiny. As serving personnel leave the Armed Forces, the responsibility for healthcare is transferred to the NHS.

A War Within is a photographic exhibition exploring the effects of war from the perspective of its subjects – giving them a voice and educating the viewer.

James Arthur Allen is a UK-based freelance photojournalist, who graduated from University College Falmouth in 2012 with a First Class Honours degree in Press and Editorial Photography. He has also undertaken hostile-environment training in preparation for his career as a photojournalist.

The exhibition is a unique partnership with the Love Arts Leeds Festival, and Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust’s Vulnerable Veterans and Adult Dependants’ Service.

Visitor Feedback
“Using art to look at these issues opens a lot of minds…”

“Very well organised, superb exhibition, well done”

“Great partnership work makes Royal Armouries relevant to current issues”

“Didn’t realise how wide reaching PTSD was before seeing this exhibition”

“Really good exhibition, very good way of getting people to talk about a relevant topic”

“I really enjoyed the speeches and found the photo’s really powerful, thank you”